No Medical Connection In Service

[ForThem]

My husband was a medic and had several years of records destroyed while he was in service that dealt with his foot injuries and other stuff. He says that his SGT said that it had to go otherwise he would never be promoted. Additionally, he says that they were told to suck it up and not go to sick call so he dealt with a lot of issues on his own.

He went NG after 2011 and transferred to the retired reserves last year. He filed for disability and had his Gulf War Exam. Where it was noted that although he claimed items that occurred after he was overseas, because he sought no treatment in service that they are not service connected.

I get that he should have seen the doc in service. I need to know if there is any way to get them connected. I am the more realist, untrusting person in this relationship where he believes everything he is told and that the "right" thing will happen.

The only thing that she said might be likely due to the Gulf War was his unexplained anal leakage and diarrhea.

Is there any hope?

[bluevet]

I agree with Philip.

He needs to go get an IMO/IME and a specialist Doc in the field of medicine that your hubby claims of his conditions and ask the Dr to state ''after examing this veteran it is my medical opinion/impression based on his military service & information provided by this veteran (name), Dr can state''his conditions and that I have also reviewed this veterans medical history that it could be in my professional opinion least likely as not that his conditions that he has now were caused while serving in military.

 

a lot of veterans never reported things while in the military therefore ''no records'' but it can be proved with medical rational that any conditions he has from serving in the gulf war can be proved it was because of his military service.

 

Also lay notarized statements from family and friends to testify of his conditions will help as evidence.

 

A good IMO.IME will help him tremendously!

 

 

jmo

 

 

...............Buck

Buck, Medical rationales and nexus statements have to be backed by the record in some fashion. It is not enough to just find a doctor to state that the disabilty is service connected. Service connection, in most cases, requires an; in service injury,event or illness; a current disability; and a nexus between the two. Without some sort of record that the veteran experienced an injury, event or illness, a nexus can not be proven, no matter how many doctors make that statement. The obvious exception to the rule is that of a presumptive illness if, say, the veteran worked around agent orange and now has diabetes. Even in such a case, the veteran would need to prove that they were exposed to agent orange. 

ForThem, This is probably going to take some investigating on your part to get what you need to prove this claim. Here is a website containing addresses that you can write to requesting unit rosters. If you know the unit your husband was in and the time he was there, you can get the names of the soldiers who were there with him. Then, you can try to locate them and see if any remember your husband's injuries. If you can find a medic who actually treated him and get a statement, that would probably be a very good start.

 

Edited August 27, 2015 by bluevet

[ForThem]

Thanks BlueVet -  One challenge I am having is that he was a medic and his buddies took care of him.  I am going to reach out to a few and see what I can find out.  I am hoping with a buddy statement and some other reviews, it will be helpful. I am requesting his C-File and requesting a few other medical records that we figured out today, he needed.  I have a feeling that I am going to have a large set of sticky notes to go through.

 

Appreciate the help!

[pwrslm]

(d) Combat. Satisfactory lay or other evidence that an injury or disease was incurred or aggravated in combat will be accepted as sufficient proof of service connection if the evidence is consistent with the circumstances, conditions or hardships of such service even though there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 1154(b))

 

Lay evidence are statements from the Veteran, his wife, children, family, as well as, buddy statements from service.  Just 1 statement from any of his buddies is sufficient proof of service connection.  Statements from the Vet, his spouse and family also are capable of providing that evidence if they can validate that the conditions existed when the Veteran got back from combat duty.

 

Also  see 

 

 

M21-1MR, Part IV, Subpart ii, Chapter 2, Section B

4. (d.)

Accept satisfactory lay or other evidence that an injury or disease was incurred or aggravated in combat if the evidence is consistent with the circumstances, conditions, or hardships of such service even though there is no official record of such incurrence or aggravation.

 

In order for evidence submitted by the Veteran to support a factual presumption that the claimed disease or injury was incurred or aggravated in service, the evidence must

 

• be satisfactory when considered alone

• be consistent with the circumstances, condition or hardships of such service, and

• not be refuted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.

 

References: 

• For a definition of satisfactory evidence, see M21-1MR, Part IV, Subpart ii, 2.B.4.e.

• For more information on satisfactory proof of combat-related disability, see

• 38 CFR 3.304(d)

• 38 U.S.C. 1154(b), and

• Collette v. Brown, 82F.3d.389 (Fed. Cir. 1996).

 

Note:  38 CFR 3.304(d) is derived from 38 U.S.C. 1154(b), and lightens the evidentiary burden with respect to disabilities alleged to be the result of combat service.

 

 

 

 

(e.)

Satisfactory evidence generally means evidence that is credible.   It is proper to   ·   consider internal consistency and plausibility in determining whether evidence is credible, and ·   regard statements that contradict other evidence of record as unsatisfactory.

[Berta]

Make sure you go to http://www.archives.gov/

Click on the Veterans Service records button, and on the SF 180 ask for ALL service medical records and all Personnel records.

Print out the bar coded thing ( I think they still do it this way) and he needs to sign it, make copy of it and then mail it to where they direct him to on the SF 180 form.

It is quite possible he was led to believe records were destroyed but they really  still are in his SMRs.

It is critical that he establish the service nexus. ...the proof that something happened to him which caused the foot injury or disability.

IMO docs cant give buddy statement. They can give a full medical rationale for an inservice event causing current  disability , but with out proof VA can say it is a post service disability.

Does he have any treatment records after service regarding this disability?

If so, how soon after his discharge are they dated?

[Buck52]

How would a veteran prove he was in/or seen some traumatic events  if he was alone? like truck drivers  ect,,,if they were out and alone and nothing was reported  then they have to go by the veterans statements it did happen .reasonable doubt goes to the veteran  right?

presumption of fact? in a hostile enemy territory.

 

jmo

.........Buck

[ForThem]

Make sure you go to http://www.archives.gov/

Click on the Veterans Service records button, and on the SF 180 ask for ALL service medical records and all Personnel records.

Print out the bar coded thing ( I think they still do it this way) and he needs to sign it, make copy of it and then mail it to where they direct him to on the SF 180 form.

It is quite possible he was led to believe records were destroyed but they really  still are in his SMRs.

It is critical that he establish the service nexus. ...the proof that something happened to him which caused the foot injury or disability.

IMO docs cant give buddy statement. They can give a full medical rationale for an inservice event causing current  disability , but with out proof VA can say it is a post service disability.

Does he have any treatment records after service regarding this disability?

If so, how soon after his discharge are they dated?

He has records for one of his conditions within a few months of his exit from Active Duty.  Some of his other items he did not directly seek care for them because he was afraid of being medically boarded while in the reserves.  He has a significant issue with respiratory issues that were non existent prior to the Kuwait service.  Others are from about 10 years after and show exacerbated condition. 

He was in a medical unit and he played the tough guy.  He would get hurt at drill or on AD orders (his two weeks), and then get care when he got home. Because it didn't happen during his actual active duty time, the C&P doc said it didn't count.

I will file for his records.  We have all his records from his Reserve time.  I believe I filed one of those forms to get records from the National Archives (bar coded form, he had to sign) and they deferred us to the state since he is Retired Reserve.